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The Peruvian government declared a state of emergency on Friday May 22, day 62 of the strikes against the Tia Maria mining project in Islay. Protests have escalated again and another death has occurred in the Arequipa region of southern Peru. The state of emergency effectively suspends the rights to free movement and assembly of Peruvian citizens.

This video shows the last moments before Ramón Colque Vilca died on Friday. Initial reports from the government claimed he was hit with a stone but the autopsy report confirmed he died from a bullet wound to the upper right side of the chest. The Interior Minister now claims the bullet that killed him was a munition that is not used by the National Police.

About 400 protesters tried to block Pampa Blanca bridge on the Panamericana Sur Highway on Friday. Despite loud cries for help from protesters who were trying to protect the injured man, police forces continued to advance. Several others were injured on Friday in confrontations with police. Colque is the third death via firearms in the Tia Maria conflict since the protests and strikes escalated in March 2015.

The Army was called in on May 16 and are reportedly still in the area but are only there to guard strategic locations such as the Panamericana Sur Highway, port areas and a fuel plant.

Opposition to the Tia Maria project in southern Peru is now in its sixth year. The project which is owned by Southern Copper Corporation, part of Grupo Mexico SAB, began in 2009. Southern Copper planned to extract copper from 2 open pits in Islay Province, Arequipa. This area is a dry, desert region with agriculture that relies on water. Opponents to the project say there is risk for water contamination that would threaten water availability, directly affecting rice, sugarcane and paprika production in the Tambo River Valley.

Reports of threats against journalists in the area have surfaced. A group of journalists from Cocachacra have had to leave the Tambo Valley area in the city of Arequipa, due to repression and intimidation by the police. Daniel Toranzo and Marcos Chicana, who work for the TV channel Cable Visión were threatened with arrest and had to go into hiding for fear of detention. There have allegedly been many arrests over the past 48 hours and the reporters said they saw their names on a list to be arrested although it is unclear if an official warrant has been issued for their detention.

Cable Visión is a local media channel that has broadcast the most raw footage of the Tia Maria protests, exposing bad police practices when repressing the demonstrators. Toranzo and Chicana reported that since the first week of the strikes they have been threatened by strangers who call them and tell them not to publish videos. Toranzo has even been accused of being a child molester, an accusation that has hurt his family.

Sources:
Arequipa Noticias
El Comercio
RPP Noticias
Telesur
La Mula
IPYS

 

 

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